Vehicle brakes, such as vehicle brakes for heavy vehicles, such as trucks, tractor-trailer combinations and buses, must be inspected and maintained. Degradation and failure of the brakes may result in catastrophic events. As such, the Federal Department of Transportation (DOT) has issued standards to insure that brakes are properly adjusted and operable to stop the vehicles if need arises.
Large vehicle brakes are inspected at check points, such as weigh stations. With such checks, a driver, operator or inspector may crawl under the truck to inspect the travel of the actuator arms to insure compliance with federal and state regulations. Typically the inspection must be done for each brake on a vehicle. In some inspection systems, the driver may have to operate the brakes during the inspection such that the driver stays in the cab of the truck while the inspector visually checks each brake.
Further, under standard practice, it is recommended that drivers/operators perform a brake inspection as part of the normal daily routine before commencing a day's driving. However, because of the difficulties in performing a brake inspection such daily inspection are often not performed. The failure to perform the daily brake inspection is further a result of the difficulties in performing the inspection without the assistance of another.
Brake monitoring systems have been developed previously. As an example, prior systems have attempted to monitor air pressure to determine if the brakes are operating safely. In other systems, a warning is provided after the brake travel has exceeded legal limits. Further, other systems have been developed to provide a visual indication during the visual inspection. The necessity of visual inspection for each brake results in a number of difficulties, including difficulties in obtaining sufficient inspections, failure to fully inspect due to time and effort, etc.
A further system is described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,373,224 directed to a dedicated master station. It should be appreciated that the disclosure of U.S. Pat. No. 7,373,224 is hereby incorporated by reference for all purposes.
However the inventors herein have recognized that such prior systems fail to address multiple and dynamic axle configurations. Further, in contrast to prior systems, the current system provides indication of failed modes. Specifically, in the prior system, a master station could be configured to display the status of each brake with multiple colored lights. Once the brakes were released, the lights for normal brake travel would extinguish, except for marginal or out of limit brakes. Under normal conditions, the system lacked ability to display normal brake-travel. For instance, if a data collector failed, there would be no indication on the Master Station. The operator would have no indication of this failed mode, as no lights would illuminate.
Further, it is noted that the prior systems depended on sensors that were not commercially available and had to be built and manufactured to the design and environmental specifications. Similarly, the prior systems typically relied on modifying the brake pedal to attach an additional sensor to detect pedal activity. This brake pedal modification would require additional long term maintenance, and ran the risk of interfering with normal braking operations.
The present embodiment disclosed herein provides systems and methods for communicating information related to qualitative assessment of the brake system. The qualitative assessment of the brake system may include monitoring of brake travel within set limits. In addition to brake travel, the system may be useful in monitoring the timing of brake system. Such assessment may be used to diagnose air leaks in a vehicle and correct sequencing of the air valves. It should be appreciated that the correct sequencing of a truck's air valves determines the quality of braking. If air valves are not sequencing properly, the truck will need a longer distance within which to stop (sopping power may be exponentially affected depending on the number of air valves not sequencing properly). Depending on which air vale is not functioning and then how many are not functioning, the entire braking system may ultimately jackknife the truck. Air valves sequencing properly assures that the truck will brake straight and in a manner expected.
The disclosed embodiments further provide improved graphical display, industry standard communications and reliable sensors. Moreover, the system is adjustable to accommodate brake systems of different stroke travel. There are numerous versions of drum brakes, each with a specific maximum travel, or stroke. In the disclosed embodiments, system configurations are provided for the type of brake on the vehicle by axle.
As described herein, this system provides reliable readout of all axles, giving the operator the assurance that the system is monitoring all brakes. The Display Unit of the present disclosure is easy to operate, and at first glance, communicates the overall condition of the brake system before embarking on the road. Such communication provides for proper maintenance of the vehicle brake system. As one example, an inspector may take their typical measurements and cross check with the operator regarding the display numbers.
This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This Summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter. Furthermore, the claimed subject matter is not limited to implementations that solve any or all disadvantages noted in any part of this disclosure.